Welcome to my SOU Thief Priest guide
Huh, Uldum. The place that started it all. It's funny how fate works. It strings together a chain of events, which lead us on unknown paths, and at the end we get where we started. It brings together the beginning and the end, forms a circle. I didn't think I would return, but here I stand, looking at the desert in this gloomy day, seeing the Halls of Origination, the Lost City of the Tol'vir, the three Obelisks and the numerous tombs out there. I can't help but remember that one time I stole the Staff of Origination and absorbed its powers, as if it was yesterday. That feeling... pure ecstasy. I felt invulnerable, superior... LIKE A GOD. That was until...
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
I remember the time
When I was in my prime
Plundering mausoleums,
tombs and museums.
Powerful relics lay in my lair.
I was ready to devour
the world with their power
Without a worry or care.
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
Then along came the explorers' team
with their meddlesome dream -
they defeated me, the archaeologist supreme,
and stopped my nefarious scheme.
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
Now I've returned,
cuz' from Tekahn I've learnt
'bout a hidden weapon here in Uldum.
With it I will wreak gloom and doom
And I won't stop until I quench
my thirst for revenge.
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
This is where you step in. You see, I need to locate the key, which will activate the ancient Forge of Origination, so I can wreak chaos all I want. The problem is, that King Phaoris and his annoying Ramkahen Tol'Vir hid it somewhere safe and not even Tekahn knows where it is. So we need to scour every tomb, every sarcophagus, every wall crack and grain of sand, in order to find it. We need to make sure, that nothing stays behind once we are finished. If we follow this plan, then we will surely stumble upon the key at some point. So tell me, fellow EVILDOER:
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
Double-crosser or devout?
You are the one I need
for this dirty deed.
Are you foe or friend?
Here's the path I recommend
You want a ride to fame?
I offer the fastest way;
What's it gonna be?
Are you in or out?
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
Whew, that was exhausting. It took me forever to write and memorize this song. Do you see all those mummies over there? Why do you think I summoned them in the first place? I just needed a captive audience, in front of which I could rehearse this song. Anyway I see you are interested in staying. Good, you have made the right choice. Consider my performance as being part of your welcoming ceremony. But don't get puffed up just because you got a bit of attention. I'm the perky one around here. After all, not everyone can carry the weight of bearing the "Supreme Archaeologist" title.
So now that you've joined the party, meet the rest of the gan... What’s that? Your payment? Do you want me to give you a hug or something? Tell you what, I will give you a “special” star everytime you win a battle. If you are on a winning streak, I might give you a second one, so you would feel a bit more special. wuss If this isn’t enough, you can take a picture of yourself holding a shiny relic and you can sign it if you want. The item however will be left in Togwaggle's newly established bank in Dalaran, where it will serve a greater good for the league of EVIL. Mostly me.
Now where was I. Ah, yes - the crew. As the Supreme Mastermind of this raid I can't assist you directly on the battlefield. I have to arrange some things with Tekahn, to plan which places we must strike and it will be a good idea to supervise all of my goons. But that's why I have assigned some of my best men to aid you in your mission. The pesky murloc is rising an army of the undead, in order to fill his ranks. You need to do the same. My ethereal servants will show you the way how to master necromancy to its full potential. You can practise it on your living test subjects, aka the units in your small team. They won't mind your little experiments on them, since they are used to dying. I've also gathered you two scrolls of a Zandalari Voodoo magic, which can conjure an exact replica of the character you most desire. Not even their mother would be able to tell them apart. This is one of the reasons why I'm not directly taking part of your group - I don't want you to make a copy of me. After all, there could be only one true Rafaam, the Supreme Archaeologist around here. Anyway, you will also be getting the help of a fanatic cultist, who might be a bit crazy, but he knows how to steal stuff. And I like him because of it. And lastly but not least, I have assigned the cunning Madame Lazul to help you foresee the enemy's tactics and use them against them.
► Possible Combos
- Seance + Amara, Warden of Hope, Archbishop Benedictus or N'Zoth, the Corruptor (if he manages to stick on the board).
- Seance + a spicy enemy minion.
- Wretched Reclaimer + Convincing Infiltrator, Sylvanas Windrunner or minions from Twilight's Call.
- Shadow Visions can fetch you tools to clear, steal or summon and steal.
► Strategy
- Versus Faster decks - clear, heal, clear, heal, stabilize, steal and emote.
- Versus Control - steal, clear, steal, heal, steal, steal, steal and emote.
- Versus Combo - run Dirty Rat, play it, ruin their strategy, steal and emote.
► General Mulligan
- Versus Faster decks - Look for Mass Hysteria, Questing Explorer, Crystalline Oracle/Conjured Mirage.
- Versus Control - Look for Questing Explorer, Shadow Visions. The rest can be deathrattle minions.
- Versus Combo - include Dirty Rat and try to find it.
► Class Specific Strategies
Warrior
I haven't seen a warrior on the ladder yet.
If you accidentally stumble upon a warrior player, then it's more likely to be a Pirate Warrior than anything else. They play aggro, so it's a good idea to find your cheap defensive tools. Clear their pirates, keep their board in check and play the control game.
If it isn't a pirate, then you could be playing against an odd deck. Which is control and thus a favourable MU. If this isn't the case either, den buckle up fo a looooooooooooong DMH Warrior game. Try to dump your hand and play Archbishop Benedictus only after they cast Dead Man's Hand (while dodging deir Dirty Rat). Don't let dem mill crucial cards with Coldlight Oracle or Brann Bronzebeard + Coldlight Oracle.
Hunter
I have been facing mostly mech so far.
Mech - the only good cards here are: Mass Hysteria, Questing Explorer, Crystalline Oracle, Conjured Mirage and Shadow Visions (+ Psychic Scream if you manage to survive that long). Try to find them and to stabilize. Clear the opponent's mechs at all cost, since they can be magnetized or buffed with Metaltooth Leaper.
Reno - this should be a favourable MU. We have so many ways to deal with their threats, to heal and to outvalue them. Just watch out for a surprise King Krush or Spiritsinger Umbra + Sylvanas Windrunner turn.
Paladin
Only odd so far.
Odd - look for defensive tools (Mass Hysteria, Conjured Mirage), try to save your AoEs when you really need them, i.e. before the paladin plays a Quartermaster.
Rogue
Odd or Pirate Kingsbane, but this isn't a common encounter. Just find your defensive tools (Mass Hysteria, Conjured Mirage) or your other cheap cards and try to stall the game as much as possible.
Shaman
Druid
I haven't faced that many druids so far. Most of them were playing jade (either the old version or the Linecracker one).
Jade - save Entomb for Aya Blackpaw. In this MU I try to dump my hand, thus deny gettin milled from Naturalize by throwing away useless spells. I preserve the most valuable ones (Mass Hysteria, Psychic Scream) for the moment, when the opponent's jades become huge. I don't play N'Zoth, if the opponent's board is empty - I don't want to lose it to Poison Seeds.
Warlock
Haven't really faced any serious warlock decks on the ladder so far, so I will copy/paste my old guide:
Evenlock - if you somehow know, that your opponent is playing this deck, keep Shadow Visions and Mass Hysteria. The strategy here is pretty simple - clear, heal, survive and then out-value the enemy. If you are having a lot of health and spare mana, heal your opponent. This way we play around Hooked Reaver and Molten Giant.
Renolock - outvalue them. Play Entomb on Voidlord and Mal'Ganis. Play Archbishop Benedictus fast, because you don't want to risk him being pulled by a Dirty Rat. Oftentimes I purposely don't play any stolen minions from my hand just to minimize the chances of letting my opponent pull Amara or Benedictus.
Mage
Burn/Tempo - Take only cheap stuff in the mulligan stage. Try to play around some secrets - Counterspell (cast a cheap or a useless spell first) and Explosive Runes/Mirror Entity (play Conjured Mirage or Convincing Infiltrator). It's a good idea to Wretched Reclaimer your Rotten Applebaums for more healing.
Priest
Your opponent will most likely be Big Priest. The strategy here is pretty simple - steal their annoying minions and narrow down their resurrection pool. This is why I ALWAYS try to find Entomb in my mulligan stage (+ Shadow Visions into a third one or a copy of Psychic Scream). The only minions, which are not worth stealing are Barnes and Obsidian Statue. And if the opponent plays or coins out Archmage Vargoth, don't be afraid of him just yet. He can't do anything on turn 4 or 5. He becomes scary with Shadow Essence, because the priest player can recruit two minions and have two extra bodies in the resurrection pool + a Vargoth multiplying their future ress spells, so I always Entomb him right before the Big Priest opponent reaches turn 6.
Oftentimes, when I cast Psychic Scream, I try to shuffle a really weak minion in the opponent's deck. It's advisable for you to do the same, because anything small would instantly become a dead card or a bad target for SE.
► A Ladderworthy Deck
If you want to have a bigger share of the pie, you have to climb up the ladder. And this includes taking more serious and risky tasks. Luckily for you, I have just that. I'm looking for someone, who is eager enough to go on a dangerous mission deep into the Halls of Origination, where they will encounter various booby traps and guardians, ready to squash all trespassers. Once you are ready to take this mission, I will supply you with a heavy ammunition:
Something is missing in our phenomenal operation. Let's see, I told you about the different tactics and the weapons of choice. But something isn't right yet. Of course, it's so obvious. It's you! You look so greyish and boring. You can't go ransacking Uldum like that. You have to do it
You need to represent our league the best way possible and you mustn't do it silently. Your clothes have to be flashy, your actions - loud. After all, how else would we be able to rub our success in the faces of those goody two-shoes heroes? You have to nag the opponent everytime you steal something good. You have to make sure they fear you for misusing their weapons for your own devilish needs.
And lastly, I have to warn you that you will face a tough resistance the further you venture into Uldum. You will encounter a lot of enemies, who will take their role as protectors very seriously. They would use only the most powerful items against you and would try to refrain us from doing our mischiefs. Even if this is the case, you must always keep your spirit high and continue plundering. The victory of crushing them would be sweeter. The spirit of the master thief is unbreakable and you must always pillage no matter the cost. That's the message you have to send to your opponents. Play a music in the background, so those would know that they don't face an ordinary villain.
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Comments
Creator's Notes.
Ok, so I have been thinking. If Burn Mages are the new plague in wild and Reno/Armour decks try to counter them, then a potential counter to both sides should be Thief Priest. My deck has the potential to outvalue Reno and to heal against Burn Mage (there are faster thief priest builds, which are suited better for this job but still). So I've cut 1x Seance and 1x Shifting Shade for 2x Penances. And imho having an answer to Kirin Tor Mage is really nice, though in some cases I prefer Fourbidden Words like Hench-Clan Thug.
So far this deck gave me the best matchup in wild, so far, in the SoU era.
But how many times do you run into a Renounce Warlock? Great clown fiestas are few and far between.
Well, I'm glad you liked it.
Renounce Warlock you say? I haven't seen this deck for a long time. I wish I stumbled upon more clown fiesta decks like you.
My opponent was using a renounce warlock deck. So things got weird from the start.
Especially when both sides busted out Archbishop Benedictus. Multiple times. Don't ask how. I'm amazed the game didn't end in a draw for going on too long.
Just a fun little deck I play in wild casual. I suspect Burn Mage will dominate the ladder this expansion and there is no reason for me to build a half-serious deck. I mean, I could try and add some early-game cards like Dead Ringer, Bloodmage Thalnos, Mistress of Mixtures and Spirit Lash, in order to complete the quest extremely fast and shut down the opponent's aggression, but this would just hurt the fun aspect of the deck and make it feel more like a typical ladder one, which I'm not interesting in experiencing.
I use Questing Explorers instead of Dead Ringers, because I want to get better value from Twilight's Call and N'Zoth, the Corruptor. I want the spell to summon as many Sylvanases as possible. Conjured Mirage is here to delay the opponent's aggression and bring us to turn 5, when our AoEs kick in.
If however some of you are interested in a more serious list, just ask and I can give you some tips on how to make them more competitive.
Editor's notes - I knew, that [Hearthstone Card (conjurered mirage) Not Found] would be useful in this deck, but I never expected it to overperform that well. It has won me many games against aggro (including burn mage), so I decided to bring this deck to the ladder and see how it would perform there. I managed to reach rank 6 with it (from rank 10) and made some changes, in order to make the deck a bit more competitive (but still fun to play). Right now I'm working on creating a guide containing information about the different MUs, but so far I can comment on:
- burn mage;
- Big Priest;
- odd paladin;
- mech hunter;
- even shaman (old version) and murloc.
- jade or armour jade druid.
I have faced other classes and other decks, but this is what I have been frequently encountering for the past few days (incl. in casual).
Taking a small break, I will write the "class specific tips" section a bit later.
Amazing deck and write up! Thanks!
Ty, glad you liked it. But I still have a lot of work. I'm planning on adding more sections (like making the deck more competitive) and improving the story.
Great guide, how's conjurged mirage worked out for you?
Thanks. Conjured Mirage has been doing great. This is the tool control priest needed, in order to reach turn 5 and start playing its powerful defensive tools (Mass Hysteria, Rotten Applebaum, Convincing Infiltrator). Two days ago an odd paladin silenced the mirage, I made a trade and I renewed its effect by resummoning it with a Wretched Reclaimer. I managed to survive yet another turn, to play a deathrattle minion and to heal myself to 40 with Amara, Warden of Hope.